Rotary lighting system

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a rotary device for use for lighting systems which ensure flexible and, if required, even mobile illumination of a room, for example of a television studio. The rotary device according to the invention is mounted at intersections of a transport rail system for conveying transport units, for example lamps. It has two components which can be rotated relative to one another and of which one is in the form of a pivot bearing, serving for fastening at the intersection, for the other, while the other is a rail support containing at least one rail section. According to the invention, each rail section of the rail support is provided with contact tracks so that the transport unit present on the rail section and having current collectors can obtain energy.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a rotary device for mounting atintersections of a transport rail system comprising transport units. Itserves for guiding the transport units to the transport rails running inany direction and for simultaneously ensuring the supply of power and ofcontrol signals to the transport units. Mounted on the transport unitsare, for example, lamps which are supplied with energy and possiblycontrol signals by the transport units and thus ensure flexible and, ifrequired, even mobile illumination of a room, for example a televisionstudio.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Conventional lighting systems for television studios, theater stages orthe like have, for example, spotlights which are mounted on a transportrail system present on the ceiling and comprising turntables and can bemanually positioned on the rails. Supply boxes from which a positionedspotlight can be supplied with power and control signals are mounted atregular intervals on the ceiling. However, such an arrangement requiresrelatively early and manual preparation for the event for which thelighting system is to be used and makes flexible, short-term adaptationof the lighting situation more difficult.

Another system for a lighting system envisages mounting a large numberof spotlights which are adjustable only in height, it being possible,depending on requirements, to use those spotlights which are located inthe suitable place. Only the height of the spotlights can be freelychosen. Although this system permits flexible work, it requires largeinvestments in expensive spotlight systems and considerably limits thenumber of systems from which a spotlight can be used.

Yet another system is based on a transport rail system which can beinstalled in the ceiling structure of a studio. Thus, a transport railsystem has rails which are parallel to one another and run over theentire length of the region in which spotlights are to be used. In eachcase a plurality of rail sections whose direction of travel isperpendicular to the direction of travel of the rails are mounteddisplaceably on a pair of such rails. The spotlights are fastened totransport units which can be pushed onto the rail sections. Two railsections on adjacent pairs of rails can then be brought into position sothat they are flush with one another and a transport unit of a spotlightcan be moved from one rail section to the next. In this way, a spotlightcan in principle be brought to any desired position on the ceiling.however, such a system has the substantial disadvantage that thetransport distances on the rail system are long and inconvenient if thelighting system has a relatively large number of spotlights whichpossibly also are of various design and perform various functions, sincerail sections occupied by transport units hinder one another duringchanges of position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to permit a lighting systemwhich does not have the disadvantages of the systems described above andin which the lamps can be flexibly moved even while they are in use.

The invention relates to a rotary device, namely a rotary device formounting at intersections between stationary transport rails which areprovided with contact tracks and form part of a transport rail systemfor conveying transport units, the rotary device having two componentswhich are rotatable relative to one another and of which one is in theform of a pivot bearing for the other, which rotary bearing serves forfastening at the intersection, while the other is a rail supportcontaining at least one rail section. In the device according to theinvention, each rail section of the rail support is provided withcontact tracks so that a transport unit present on the rail section andhaving a current collector can obtain energy.

Furthermore, the invention also relates to a lighting system comprisinglamps for illuminating television studios, theater or concert stages orthe like, wherein the lamps are provided with transport units which canbe positioned on a transport rail system comprising transport railshaving contact tracks, these transport units having current collectorswhich make contact with the contact tracks, and wherein one rotarydevice as described above is present at each of the intersections ofthis transport rail system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to adrawing. In the drawing,

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a rotary device according to theinvention,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the pivot bearing of this device,

FIG. 3 shows a view, also a perspective one, of its rail support,

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section through the rail section of the railsupport with mounted trolley shown uncut and

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a part of a lighting system which isprovided with rotary devices according to the invention, with a lampshown schematically.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary device consists of two components, ofwhich one in the form of a pivot bearing, denoted as a whole by 1 and tobe installed firmly at intersections of the transport rail system, forthe other, denoted as a whole by two, and referred to below as railsupport.

The pivot bearing 1 essentially comprises a hollow cylinder 11 having anexternal diameter D_(a) and an internal diameter D_(i). This is providedwith threaded holes 12 which can be engaged by fastening means in orderto fasten the rotary device to a ceiling or to a scaffolding. Dependingon the structure of the transport rail system, for example, eight railattachments 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 of stationary transport railsare fixed to the cylinder 11 and are led radially outward from thecylinder surface, in each case two adjacent attachments making an angleof 45° with one another.

The rail support 2 likewise essentially comprises a hollow cylinder 50whose external diameter d_(a) is slightly less than the internaldiameter D_(i) of the hollow cylinder 11 belonging to the pivot bearing1. It is additionally provided at the top with a flange 51 having anexternal diameter d_(f) which is at least equal to D_(a). Mounted in thelower part of the rail support is a rail section 52 which runs along adiagonal of the cylinder 50.

Each of the rail attachments 21 to 28 as well as the rail section 52 aresymmetrical with respect to a plane which runs along the rail directionand is vertical in the example shown. Each rail attachment 21 to 28 oreach rail section 52 has a ceiling 31, two side walls 32, 33 and tworunways 34, 35. A transport unit 70 in the form of a trolley isdisplaceable on the runways 34, 35, along the direction of travel of therail. A plastics band 36 is mounted on each of the two side walls 32, 33of the rails. Each of the plastics bands is provided with at least twogrooves, each of which contains a current-carrying rail 37 or 38 whichis opened toward the inside of the rail and serves as a contact track.Those contact tracks 37, 38 of the rail attachments 21 to 28 which areopposite one another make contact with one another via connections 46,47. The connections 46, 47 can be, for example, in the form ofcurrent-carrying cables mounted on the outside of the rail attachments21 to 28, which cables make contact with the contact tracks 37, 38through orifices in the side walls 32, 33.

Also mounted in the interior of the hollow cylinder 11 of the pivotbearing 1 of the rotary device is a plastics band 41 with insertedcurrent-carrying rails 42, 43 which are connected directly to thecurrent-carrying rails 37, 38 of the rail attachments 21 to 28. The railsupport 2 has contact pins 44, 45 which are connected to the contacttracks 37, 38 of the rail section 52 and, in the state ready foroperation, are pressed, for example by a spring, against thecurrent-carrying rails 42, 43 so that they make electrical contact withthem.

The trolley 70 shown schematically in FIG. 4 has a plurality of axleswith wheels 71 running on the runways 34, 35, and drive means by whichit can be moved along the rail. Current collectors 72 which slide alongthe contact tracks 37, 38 are mounted on that side of the trolley 70which faces the observer in FIG. 4. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2,the trolley 70 has one set of current collectors each at the front andrear in the direction of travel, only two current collectors 72 beingpresent per set, corresponding to the number of contact tracks 37, 38.However, the number of current collectors does of course increase withthe number of contact tracks 37, 38, if more than two of these arepresent. In addition, the trolley also has wheels 73 which are mountedat its top and, by running on the ceiling 31, prevent the trolley 70from rearing up at large accelerations and the current collectors fromlosing contact with the current-carrying rails 37, 38.

In the state ready for operation, the rail support 2, as shown in FIG.1, is inserted into the pivot bearing 1 of the rotary device. Presentbetween the flange 51 and the upper edge 11 a of the cylinder 11 is aroller bearing 61 which makes it possible for the rail support 2 to beturned with little resistance against the pivot bearing 1. For thispurpose, the rail support 2 has an actuator. An electric motor 63connected via supply cables 62 to the current-carrying rails 37, 38 ofthe rail section 52 is fastened to the inside of the rail support 2. Ifrequired, said motor produces a rotation of the rail support via aplastics gear wheel 64 which engages, through an orifice 65 in thecylinder 50, the teeth of a plastics toothed rack 66 countersunk in theinner surface of the cylinder 11. In addition, spherical indentations 67are provided at predetermined positions at an angular spacing of 45°relative to one another on the inside of the hollow cylinder. A ball 68is mounted on the outside of the cylinder 50 and is pressed outward by aspring against a stop or, in the state ready for operation, against theinside of the cylinder 11. It then snaps into one of these indentationswhen the rail support is aligned in such a way that one of the railattachments 21 to 28 is in the direction which leads radially outwardfrom its rail section 52. In this way, the positions in which atransport unit can be moved onto the rail support 2 or away from it aredefined as fixed positions of the rail support 2.

The structure and the mode of operation of a lighting system providedwith rotary devices according to the invention are described brieflybelow. FIG. 5 shows a view of a part of such a lighting systemcomprising a lamp 80 shown only schematically. The lamp 80 is, forexample, a spotlight having a set of color filters and a device forinserting a filter from this set. As is known for traditional lightingsystems, it is provided with means by which its height can be adjustedand by which its light can be thrown in any desired direction.

The spotlights, together with the device for inserting the colorfilters, are supplied with power via the contact tracks and via thetrolley 70. For feeding current and, depending on requirements, controlsignals into the contact tracks 37, 38, 42, 43 of the transport railsystem, one of the rails installed in a fixed position is in contactwith cables which are connected to a power unit and, if required,control devices. The contact tracks 42, 43 of the pivot bearing 1,together with the connections 46, 47, which connect together theopposite contact tracks 37, 38 of the stationary rails, and with theconnections to the rail sections 52 of the rail support 2 via thecontact pins 44, 45, ensure that the entire rail network is continuouslyconnected to power units and control devices, subdivision into sectorswhich in each case have a separate power supply also being possible inthe case of relatively large lighting systems. In this case, the trolleyof each transport unit, as shown in FIG. 4, has two sets of currentcollectors one behind the other in the direction of travel and a relaycircuit which switches back and forth between the two current collectorsets to prevent a trolley from short-circuiting two sectors with oneanother.

The lighting system also has a central control unit not shown in thedrawing. With the aid of this control unit, the position and currentfunction of each spotlight can be continuously adapted to therequirements according to a predetermined program or by directoperation. The actuation of the spotlights, of the devices for insertingthe color filters, of the trolleys and of the actuators by the controlunit is then effected either by a control signal modulated on the powersupply, via additional contact tracks for control signal transmissionwhich are not shown in the drawing and are parallel to thecurrent-carrying rails 37, 38 shown or via an infrared remote control.

The continuous power and control signal supplied to the spotlightindependently of their position make it possible for them to changetheir position even during use, permitting novel and spectacularlighting effects during performances, for example at rock concerts.However, because the rotary device according to the invention isprovided with an actuator with quiet force transmission via a plasticsgear wheel, a lamp can be readily moved, for example in televisionstudios during a broadcast, ensuring greater flexibility in comparisonwith conventional lighting systems and in particular permitting workwith fewer spotlights.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that the rotary device describedabove is by no means the only possible embodiment of the invention andcan also be modified in many respects. Thus, for example, it is entirelypossible for the entire power supply to operate on the basis ofthree-phase current, in which case the number of contact tracks 38, 39would of course correspondingly increase.

It is also entirely possible for a rail support 2 to have more than onerail section 52. If, for example, two intersecting rail sections makingan angle of 90° with one another are mounted on each rail support 2, themaximum angle through which the rail support has to be turned before atransport unit 70 can be moved from a predetermined stationary rail ontoone of its rail sections can be reduced to 45°. In this way, the speedwith which the positions of the transport units 70 can be adapted canadditionally be increased.

It is of course also possible for the structure of the transport railsystem to differ from the embodiment shown schematically in FIG. 5. Therotary device can be installed, for example, in such a way that onerotary device is directly adjacent to the next one, so that thetransport units can travel directly from one rail support 2 to the nextone without having to travel over fixed rails. In this case, the pivotbearing 1 would of course have not eight rail attachments 21 to 28 but,for example, only four thereof, which would run in the diagonaldirections of the transport system.

It is not only lamps which are suitable transport units. For example, itis also entirely possible for television cameras, loudspeaker boxes,etc. by themselves or in combination with lamps to be positioned in aflexible and mobile manner on a transport rail system provided with therotary devices according to the invention.

The rotary device is of course also suitable for applications other thanfor the entertainment sector, for example for use forprogram-controllable transport devices in a warehouse.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rotary lighting system, comprising at least onelamp-carrying transport unit; a rail support having at least one railsection for receiving the at least one lamp-carrying transport unit; anda pivot bearing for rotatably receiving the rail support, wherein the atleast one rail section has contact tracks, wherein the lamp-carryingtransport unit has current collectors cooperating with the contact trackfor communicating current to the at least one lamp-carrying transportunit, and wherein the rail support has contact pins for connecting thecontact tracks of the at least one rail section with a power source,whereby power is fed to the at least one lamp-carrying transport unit.2. A rotary lighting system has claimed in claim 1, further comprisingan actuator for rotating the rail support, and means for fixing the railsupport in predetermined positions.
 3. A rotary lighting system asclaimed in claim 2, wherein both the rail support and the pivot bearingare formed as hollow cylinders, and wherein the rail support-forminghollow cylinder is rotatably received in the pivot bearing-forminghollow cylinder.
 4. A rotary lighting system as claimed in claim 3,wherein the actuator includes an electric motor secured to an innersurface of the rail support-forming hollow cylinder, and a gear wheelsecured on an output shaft of the electric motor and projecting throughan opening, which is formed in a wall of the rail support-forming hollowcylinder for engaging a toothed rack provided in an inner surface of thepivot bearing-forming, hollow cylinder, whereby the rail support isrotated upon actuation of the electric motor.
 5. A rotary lightingsystem as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for displacingthe at least one lamp-carrying transport unit during use of the lamp.